“Helena, what’s your status?” The radio buzzed in Helena’s ear, she brought the microphone closer to her face so she could whisper in the details.

“Alright, I’ve managed to set up camp on top of the water tower. What exactly are we looking for?”

“Some sort of map or plans, we need to get enemy intel to know what they’re planning.” Nick explained, he pulled a ski-mask over his face, as well as putting night vision goggles on over his eyes.

“Alright, we need to go in quietly, we can’t afford to put them on high alert.” Helena said, looking through her binoculars.

“Then why did you bring a big-ass fucking sniper rifle?”

“Because I know you’re gonna alert them somehow. Mind as well bring something to make up for it. Besides, it’s loaded with tranquilizer rounds.” She said with heavy sarcasm, causing Nick to frown.

“What? You don’t trust me?” Nick sneered, Helena chuckled a little bit.

“Not as much as I trust myself, but you’re a close second.”

“Guys, I don’t mean to interrupt, but don’t we have something to be doing right about now?” Jhon asked, causing both ends of the conversation to go dead silent.

“Okay then, Nick, Jhon, you have a patrol coming in on your left. Take them out.” From where Helena’s at, nobody could see her, except for the ones who know that she’s even there. She could see everything, because luckily the water tower was a good vantage point.

“Alright, I’ll take the one on the left, you get the other.” Jhon crept up on the Griffin, putting his arm around his neck, squeezing as hard as he could to choke him out. The only audible noise that could be heard was the sound of choking, and it wasn’t all that loud either. Jhon put him down quietly, without raising attention to himself.

Nick brought his left arm around the pony, he dragged him back into the alleyway, pistol-whipping him to knock him out. He then tossed the body into a garbage heap, along with the Griffin.

“Nice, alright Helena, where to?”

“The radio building, the house at the very end of town to the front of you.”

“How do you expect us to get all the way there? That’s like two blocks!”

“Oh yeah, you know that cord on your shoulder I told you not to pull?” Helena asked, Nick looked to his shoulder, and saw a small cord dangling from somewhere inside his uniform.

“I want you to pull on that cord.” Nick did as he was told, and he turned invisible, much to his excitement.

“Adaptive camouflage.” Jhon said, doing the same to his own cord on his shoulder.

“There, can you stop complaining now?”

“Yeah, yeah this’ll do just fine.”

“Good, Night Shade’s counting on us to get those documents.”

Opening the door, Andrew headed into the mess hall, the mass of people he saw were all happy, they were all with their friends. He was alone, the only friends he knew were all in his head, probably long gone by now.

“Hey, you’re that noob officer, right?” Andrew quickly turned around, seeing that there was another person, about his height, and only seemed a bit older than he was.

“I’m Nick, it’s nice to meet you.” Nick held out his hand, and smiled at Andrew.

“Andrew, likewise.” Andrew shook Nick’s hand, smiling back at him.

“Hey, I think they made the teams already, you wanna go check them out?” Nick pointed towards the holographic billboard, from here Andrew saw the posted message.

Both Andrew and Nick looked to find their names, everyone else crowded behind them to do the same. Andrew had hoped that he would get a good team, perhaps even get the best team. He had heard that Helena was also here, but couldn’t seem to find her.

“Hey, have you seen a Helena Wilson around here?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen her, she actually sleeps in my cabin.” Nick answered, not really excited about the whole thing.

“Why? Do you know her?”

“She was my childhood friend, at one point in time her family took me into legal custody.”

“Seriously? What the hell happened to you man?”

“My parents died in the Las Vegas attack in 2149, from there I spent a few years in a foster home, when I turned 17 I inherited everything they had. So I went to college, got a degree, and signed up for the war. Two years later I’m being asked to join the Delta Force, not what I expected, but exciting no less.”

“Y’know we’re on the same team now, right leader?” Andrew had yet to find his name, but when he noticed what Nick was saying about, he was happy.

“Leader?”

“Yeah, it says you’re team leader, highest rank and everything.”

“Hmm, I like it, ‘Master Sergeant Andrew Hartfield’. Didn’t think the college part in my resume would do that.” He laughed sarcastically.

“Consider yourself lucky, Sergeant. When there’s a war goin on, you’ll end up being Captain before you know it. On the other hand, during peacetime, you’ll probably end up being a Staff Sergeant or some shit, college degree or not.” Nick patted him on the back, causing Andrew to rub it to make the pain go away.

“How old are you anyways?”

“I am Twenty-One on-the-dot, good sir.”

“I swear, America’s recruiting younger and younger.”

“Why? What’s the problem?”

“I’m Twenty-Six.”

“See, you’re not that much older than I am.”

“I just hope you’re not the pussy type of team leader, I don’t take orders too lightly from someone younger than me.”

Andrew copied the documents over to his tacpad located on his wrist, he started to study the team was was assigned to. What he didn’t expect was to see Helena assigned to his team as well, a big surprise on his part. There was a fourth member too, his name was James Lamar. He’s heard of him around campus, but he hasn’t seen him personally either, along with Helena.

“Listen up people! In the next ten minutes I expect you all to be in your designated fire-teams! All in alphabetical order, I want team leaders to be lined up in front! Just because you’ve all passed recruiting doesn’t mean it’s over yet! I want to see your war faces!”

“Sir, yes sir!” Everyone said in unison.

Andrew and Nick lined up right after Fire Team Delta, Andrew being on the very far left in his upright stance.

“Is this Fire Team Echo?” Andrew heard a feminine voice come from his right, he turned to find Helena, who didn’t seem to recognize him when she saw his face. All she did was look back at him, and then fell into the line.

“I guess this is it.” Andrew heard a quiet, yet a very stern voice, it had to have been James. Once Andrew caught sight of him, he avoided eye-contact with him, and went into the line behind Helena.

“Alright team, I am Master Sergeant Andrew Hartfield, I am your team leader, and I expect you all to respect me as such. I look forward to working with you all.” Andrew introduced himself with the normal tone of voice, he didn’t seem very serious, but he was far from being docile.

“Fire Team Echo! It looks like you’re already being assigned to a mission, I commend you for that. There was a downed aircraft in the South American region, there was a valuable slip-space drive on that aircraft, and I want you to retrieve that and any remaining survivors of the crash. Meet me in my tent for briefing. Welcome to the future gentlemen, and woman.”

“Yes sir!” They all said in unison.

“That’s how we all met, it wasn’t at all dramatic, yet in fact it was a bit boring.”

“Yeah, but it does explain a lot.”

“What do you mean, Rainbow?”

“I mean, it explains how you all are friends now.” She said in a very enthusiastic tone.

“It also gives me an idea of how things started out between you all. From what I can tell, you and your species at times can be difficult to trust one another.” Twilight put another paper in her already giant stack of notes, it was already up to Andrew’s waist in height.

“Twilight, are you still rambling on about that book you’re doing about humans?”

“Of course I am! This is one of the most outstanding breakthroughs in all of Equestria since Night Shade’s time!”

“C’mon Twilight, stop shitting me. There’s been better discoveries since we came here, I know it, you know it, everyone knows it.”

“Hmm, I guess I can’t really argue with you...” Twilight had an expression of defeat, but instantly perked back up when Andrew started to get up and head towards the bookshelf. She couldn’t help but to wonder what he was doing, since he didn’t read all that often. Using the process of elimination, she figured that he wanted to show her something.

“If you need something to document, take this,” Andrew blew the dust of the cover of the white book, “it’s, ‘Basic Human Anatomy and Behavior: Volume 1.’ Nick used it to study when he was in medic school.”

Twilight’s eyes gleamed with excitement, almost like Pinkie when Nick agreed to help her bake cupcakes that one time. She ripped it out of his hands with her magic and stuffed it in her bookbag, Andrew seemed visibly shocked.

“This will further my studies ten-fold! Thank you thank you thank you!” She tried squeezing the living daylights out of Andrew, who started to suffocate due to the lack of air coming to his lungs. The girls in the background started to giggle and laugh at his torment.

“I think story time’s over for today girls, it’s getting late, and I’m gonna go visit Berry Punch at her tavern.”

“Wait a minute, why?”

“Because I need a drink, that’s why.” He said simply, laying down his hat on the table next to him.

“Anyone want in? I’ll buy?” He offered, and two hooves shot up into the air. Rainbow and Applejack, much to his surprise. Usually, when he asked, no one agreed to come with him, probably because it wasn't easy for him to get drunk.

“Alrighty then, you go on ahead then, I need to fetch a few things.” As all six of them left the police station, Andrew let out a sigh.

He was utterly tired today, having to deal with six mares randomly coming into his workplace and ask him about friendship, not to mention having to pick up for the work due to the absence of his teammates. He missed peacetime, since the war thing started and put everything he knows here in danger, he has to do everything he can to defend it.

Andrew grabbed for the sack of coins he always left in the nightstand next to his bunk, always keeping a little bit of his pay for either drinking money, or just plain spending money in general. The rest of the money he would use to chip in for new equipment Nick or Helena would always want, or he would use it for upgrading the equipment he already owns. Knowing his friends too well it would probably be the first option he was given, much to his disadvantage.

“Alright, here it is. Should I-? Nah, not when I’m drunk.” Andrew had second thought about taking his gun, but seeing that it wouldn’t be a good idea, he left it inside the drawer.

The sun set over Ponyville, and night started to make it way into town. Andrew could see across the way that Vinyl’s club seemed to be closed for the night, which wasn’t the case for most days. He could see Vinyl come out of the dark building, letting out a big yawn. Once she caught sight of Andrew, she waved at him in a tired fashion, only for him to wave back as he headed closer to the tavern.

Through the market, it seemed that most shops were closed for the day, since it was night time, but some were still open; like the ice cream shop, or the artists’ corner. All he knew is that the tavern/bar was very lively, he could hear a lot of random chatter coming from inside.

“Oi, lookie here! It’d be Andrew, from the other night!” Andrew heard a very thick accent coming from the bar, he didn’t actually know who he was, he could tell that he knew him somehow.

“Who said my name?”

“Andrew! Over here!” Andrew looked to his right, and saw Applejack and Rainbow sit at a booth, along with another pony, unrecognizable from where he was standing.

“Andrew, I want you to meet the local Ponyville brewer, Hops! He makes the best brew anywhere in Equestria!”

“RD, you know I don’t like it when you do that!” He paused before speaking, “Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Hartfield, I’ve heard that name a lot around these parts. Some soldiers say you’re a hero, I’ve heard from other soldiers that they hate your guts.”

“Yeah? That’s... interesting. Anyways, I’ve heard you brew beer?”

“Yessir! I also distill Moonshine, commissioned by the Princess of the Night herself, as well as other specialty drinks.”

“Moonshine, eh? Do you mind if I try some?”

“O course! Berry! Can you get the lad a shot o’ Moonshine over here!”

“Coming right up sir!” Berry Punch came in with a small tray of little shot glasses, filled to the brim with a crystal clear liquid.

When she set it down on the table, Andrew immediately grabbed for one, downing it in an instant. He could feel the burn of the Moonshine, causing his throat to feel immense pain. He started to cough as he wiped the rest of it from his mouth, and mumbled inaudible curse words to himself.

“Sweet merciful Jesus, that was good!”

“I knew you’d like it!” Hops hoofpumped the air, causing Andrew to chuckle a little bit.

“Alright, I think I can stay for a couple rounds before I have to go.” Andrew said honestly. A couple more rounds wouldn’t be enough to get him drunk, but at least it would be able to get him even a slight buzz.

“What do ya need to be doin’ then?” Applejack asked, eyeing Andrew carefully.

“I need to patrol the Everfree Border.”

“At night?! That’s insane!”

“I think I can handle myself pretty well, considering I survived this long.” He chuckled, downing another shot. Hopefully he won’t have to eat those words later on, because he’s heard that some bad shit goes on in that forest.

“Helena, we’ve got the package. Repeat, we got the package.” Nick said with high hopes. He tossed the documents to Jhon, and he stuffed them inside of a black suitcase lying right next to him, clipping the handle to his waist.

“Alright, Night Shade said that there should be something to use somewhere in your location. Do you see anything?”

“I don’t see anything that will get us out of here quietly.” Nick said skeptically, causing Helena to pause in a moment of silence.

“Alright, I’ll cover you, just get out of there before anyone spots you.” Helena scanned the area for any potential targets, though no stragglers could be found. Most of them were camping by bonfires, or in groups talking to each other.

“Helena, there’s a sentry right above our location, we can’t get out if you don’t take him down.” Nick explained.

Helena looked to the second floor of the building, the armed sentry wasn’t hard to spot since he was basking in the moonlight. Since she was hoping for a non-lethal takedown, so instead of high-caliber rounds, she had high-velocity horse tranquilizers. The primer on the horse tranquilizer was activated when Helena pulled the trigger, making a little *pop* when it went off.

The red dart went straight into the flank of the armed sentry, he yipped a little bit on impact. When he turned around, he saw the red feathers stick out of his flank, but it was too late to pull it out.

“Gotcha.” Helena said quietly, watching the armed sentry fall over.

“Alright Nick, you’re cleared to move.”

“Okay, make your way to us, we got you covered.” Nick said.

“C’mon Drew! You gotta tell us what happened!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Tell you what happened when?” He asked cluelessly.

“What happened in South America! Right after you got your team together!” Andrew’s mood darkened the word “South America” came from her mouth, causing him to take a huge gulp of whatever was in front of him.

“Okay then, you might want to sit back down though, this is gonna be a long one.” Andrew took another huge gulp of the alcohol, by the taste of it it tasted like really strong whiskey, though he didn’t know for sure what exactly it was.

“So I assume that you all know your objectives?”

“Yes sir: We secure the crash site, secure the cargo, and wait for backup to arrive.” Andrew summarized, the others on his squad looked at him as if he was a monster, Helena just stared.

“Good, now get going, I already have a plane waiting for you, so you’d better hurry it up then.”

“Wait, but sir-”

“I already have your gear packed and ready on the plane, now get moving!”

Andrew, Helena, Nick, and Jhon made their way to their designated airplane, though it was more like a fast moving spacecraft from the looks of it. Andrew remembered how planes and jets looked like back in the olden days, and they looked like nothing compared to what they look like now.

“So, ‘leader,’ how exactly are we gonna go in and secure the crash site?”

“Easy, we drop in by parachuting, and set up a perimeter to wait for backup, nothing special.”

“From what I can tell, this is your first day out in the actual field, how are you instant team leader?” Helena hissed, causing Andrew to stare back in confusion.

“I don’t think people are looking for experienced people anymore, not from what I can tell. They look for the people who can keep a calm head during a firefight, with a war going on, the country pumps out as many troops as they need, experienced or not.”

“That sounds about right, this is one of the most brutal wars since World War 2, all things considered.”

“Who exactly are we fighting anyways?” Nick asked.

“We’re fighting rebels apparently.”

“Rebels?”

“I don’t know the exact reason, but I’m pretty sure it has to do with the economy. Since the collapse of 2081, they took a lot of people from their jobs and replaced them with machines. They got angry and started to take up arms against their employers, at the time the government didn’t have any involvement, but some people started to blame the government for the trouble, and started to attack our troops stationed around the country.” Andrew took a breath and continued to speak, but was immediately cut off by Helena.

“That’s why we’re trying to suppress them, correct?”

“Yes and no, that war ended about 50 years ago, but the rebels took that to their advantage, to try and stock up on supplies for their next move. I estimate that their numbers are around 5-10 billion waiting this long.”

“Why exactly are we getting a slipspace drive if it doesn’t have anything to do with the war?” Jhon asked hesitantly, Andrew let out a puff of air, trying to get the stress off of his shoulders.

“The rebels are only here on Earth, and they have no means to get into the other colonies without a slipspace drive. If they get their hand on it, it could mean a total economical and political collapse. Besides, it’s the only one in existence as of right now, and it’s nothing more than a prototype.” Andrew looked at the files again, but this time, looking at the flight crew of the crashed plane. He tensed up when he saw Carmine's name on the list of MIA's.

“Andrew, you seem... tense. Is something the matter?”

“No, no, it’s nothing.” Andrew rubbed his temples, trying to suppress the grunts of pain he wanted to let out.

“You can tell us, Andrew. We’re your team now, we stick together through anything!” He gulped, and hesitated before speaking very sternly, almost as if he's seen a ghost.

“Someone I know was on that plane.” He finally managed to say.

“Jeez, that’s harsh. I’m sorry.” Nick said solemnly, adjusting the loose strap on Andrew’s helmet. He nodded to him gratefully, and loaded up into the plane.

“There’s no time to waste guys! The longer we take the more likely it’s going to get stolen!”

“Sir, yes sir!”

Author's Notes:

Just so you know, that this is the future, and it has nothing to do with our current military and/or true facts. This is strictly fiction and made up, if you haven't noticed by now.